Lawsuits
In January 1970, the Beatles signed a music publishing management contract with ABKCO Industries.[7] At some point after the contract was terminated, ABKCO sued the group, a suit resolved in 1977 when the Beatles paid ABKCO $4.2 million; other ABKCO Beatles-related lawsuits continued for at least a decade.[8]
One such case would include ABKCO Music, Inc. v. Harrisongs Music, Ltd. Former Beatle George Harrison (under Harrison Interests) was sued by Bright Tunes Music Corporation over the similarities between Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and "He's So Fine" (by the Chiffons), the rights of which were owned by Bright Tunes. At the time, ABKCO was managing work released by Harrison, as well as other material by the Beatles, which meant that they were defendants in the case; that is, until ABKCO made a successful motion to acquire Bright Tunes and all of their copyrights, after years of negotiation. Another lawsuit was then initiated by ABKCO against Harrison Interests over the similarities between "My Sweet Lord" and "He's So Fine". Eventually, the case was ruled as copyright infringement on the part of Harrison, which resulted in him paying damages for the infringement; however, ABKCO was also found guilty of breaching their fiduciary duty by purchasing Bright Tunes with intimate knowledge of the defendant's defense in the case, indicating that ABKCO was withholding the earnings from their acquisition, which was to be paid to Harrison Interests with interest. The decision was appealed by both parties, but the district court's decision was upheld by the appellate court.[9][10]
ABKCO sued the Verve over their song "Bitter Sweet Symphony", which samples the Andrew Oldham Orchestra recording of "The Last Time" by the Rolling Stones.[11] In May 2019, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones handed back the rights to all future royalties of the songs to the Verve (having split ties with ABKCO Records).[12]
In July 2008, ABKCO filed a lawsuit against Lil Wayne for copyright infringement and unfair competition, specifically referring to the track "Playing with Fire" on his album Tha Carter III.[13] In the lawsuit, ABKCO claims that the song was obviously derived from the Rolling Stones' "Play with Fire", a song for which ABKCO owns the rights.[13][14] As a result, "Playing with Fire" was removed from the online music track listings of Tha Carter III album.
